The Girls

I am keeping Mara Katie today and I am very sad to say that this is the last time I will have her for a while since the Barker's are moving to Rome next Tuesday. Sigh. So sad. I cannot think about it or talk about it or else I will cry. On a more positive note, though, they are only about 1.5 hours up I75 so I can easily see Jana and they are not moving across the country...I have to keep reminding myself of this or else I will get upset. I have shed many tears over their departure and I know when it really happens I will really break down but for now I just put it in the back of my mind. I have been friends with Jana (I consider her my sister now) since we were pregnant with the girls. We have laughed, cried, shared stories, raised our girls, had family dinners, went out to eat together, went to parks together, playgrounds, walks and had many, many, many play dates. She and her family have been such a blessing to us as I have said many times on my blog but I mean it from the bottom of my heart.

If you want to know the details of why they are headed out of Atlanta then go to Barker Happenings and get the full story. We are thrilled that Kane is done with grad school because it has been a very long road for them but they will be missed like crazy by our family. Ella Ann will have a hard time because she doesn't understand why we won't be able to see Mara Kate as often as we do now but I know she will adjust with time and will enjoy the Jensen/Barker family new normal on down the road. Mara Kate and Ella Ann are sisters for all we are concerned because they have honestly been with each other since birth....11 days apart. They talk like they are sisters, fight like sisters (rarely), love like sisters, etc. When Mara Kate is here with Jana she will ask me to take her potty instead of Jana, I expect her to use her manners (which she does) and will correct Mara Kate when I have her (Jana expects the same behavior from Ella Ann at her house) and Mara Kate will follow me around just like Ella Ann does (I have no clue as to why this is fun for her either). It has been a blessing for Jana and I to watch them grow and play together. Now that they are 3 1/2 they hold normal conversations, play VERY well together, laugh together and get along so well. It is amazing to watch and I enjoy keeping Mara Kate whenever I can because she is such a sweet, loving girl and Ella Ann adores her. We plan to see the Barkers often once they move. I can easily pack up the kids and head north for the day and vice versa. Jana and I also plan to let the girls have sleepovers. We can meet halfway and exchange kids and the girls can have an entire day and night together. They will LOVE it! As Jana keeps reminding me, this isn't goodbye, it's just an "I'll see you later."

Anyway, I am keeping Mara Kate today while Kane defends his thesis at Georgia Tech. Jana went to watch. The girls came over yesterday and I helped Jana prepare all of the foods that she had to have ready for the panel that is questioning him and the audience...yes it is ridiculous that they have to do that! So when Jana dropped off Mara Kate today she picked up all of her food...worked out perfectly. So to entertain the girls while Rane slept, I made an obstacle course for them with all our yogurt cups (we have a bazillion now and counting). They loved it! They eventually got the shopping cart and stroller and pushed their babies through it about 50 times. Evidently my bed is a boat these days so Ella Ann's entire fleet of stuffed animals must ride as well. I walked into my room a minute ago and they were playing school on the "boat" and discussing the very troubling questions of a 3 year old....what they want to be when they grow up....Mara Kate was saying she wanted to be a race car. Ummm...okay.

When I saw Mara Kate's shoes in the same row as all of Ella Ann's I realized how much Mara Kate considers herself a part of our family and our daily life. I have all of Ella Ann's shoes lined up at the top of her steps. Mara Kate came over, took off her shoes and put them in the middle of Ella Ann's. Hers are the white sandals. I thought this picture pretty much summed up their relationship. :)

The yogurt cup maze.....

l
through my bedroom....

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and back out to the living room.


On their "boat" playing school.

On a side note: Ella Ann was running errands with me yesterday and she was talking to me about Rane being from heaven, him being in my belly, etc. (I'm waiting on the the "how" he got into this world question but thankfully it hasn't popped into her head yet.) I can always tell when the wheels are turning because her question will be followed by a very long pause which leads to an inevitable "Why?" question again. After her pause she asks, "Well, did God throw me down from heaven to our old house?" Oh my goodness I started laughing so hard I nearly peed in my pants! This, of course, made her laugh very hard so we are riding in the car hysterically laughing at one another. It is moments like this that make me love my life and family even more than I already do. That girl, she cracks me up and it always, always brightens my day!